'No Find No Fee' Tracing - The Truth

We were recently contacted by a solicitor who had fallen victim to one of the ‘no find no fee’ tracing services being advertised online – you may have seen or even considered using them yourself.

After a period of time the agency in question provided an address, however, after writing to the individual it was returned to the solicitor as 'address unknown', leaving them back at square one.

This is a common occurrence - in fact we receive at least one call each week from a client with a similar story of an unsuccessful trace through using these cheaper alternatives.

So what’s the difference - do you get less bang for your buck?

The Truth

The 'no find no fee' agency will normally carry out only one trace enquiry and will operate over e-mail, meaning that you don’t actually deal with a real person.

The length of time usually quoted to find the person will be between 5-10 working days.

If they can’t find them, that’s it.

The reputable agency will have access to systems that others don’t, meaning that if someone is able to be found we can find them, quickly.

We are able to do this as we have access to Data Protection Act compliant consented data on over 99% of the population - this allows us to fill in the gaps between all of the other widely available commercial databases, statutory data as well as data that is in the public domain.

Using a multitude of systems we are normally able to trace someone within a few hours of being instructed – only on the rare occasion are we unable to trace an individual which is evident in our 98% success rate.

Our background as private investigators helps with this - unlike the cheaper options we have a wealth of ‘real world’ experience meaning that we can often spot patterns, trends and tricks that people use in order to not be found.

In the unlikely event of us not being able to trace the person at the first time of asking , we offer to carry out a further trace enquiry three months later…at no additional cost.

Anybody can be found, even those that don’t appear on the electoral role, utility databases or are registered as home owners or tenants.

Reporting - Getting it right first time

The other main point of difference is the supporting information provided once we have located the individual in question.  Our reports are not just one-liners, they will include;

• Current and previous addresses for the individual
• The process and systems we have used to trace them
• A report on why we believe they are there
• They are also presented to the standard needed to submit in civil and criminal proceedings.

This detailed information can help our clients serve process quickly and effectively, meaning a quicker resolution.

It’s not just absconding debtors that we are asked to find either – locating missing children, witnesses or even finding lost relatives are all common requests for our Tracing team.

Our standard fixed fee for an individual trace is £125 plus vat but we also offer volume discounts on anything over 5 cases per month.

If you would like to ask us a question on Tracing or if you have a case that you would like resolved quickly and efficiently, please call me on 0845 3707 401 or e-mail me; steve@ableinvestigations.com - we'd be more than happy to help.